Uchechukwu Nnaike
18 November 2008
Lagos — A special award that seeks to identify, recognise and celebrate acts of heroism in children has been inaugurated by foremost noodles manufacturer, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, makers of Indomie Instant Noodles.
The award tagged "Indomie Independence Day Award for Heroes of Nigeria" is for children between the ages of five years and 15 years and it is a first of its kind in the country.
According to the Head of Marketing of the company, Mr. Pawan Sharma, the purpose of the award was to inspire heroism in youngsters, acknowledge and encourage children who, at the great risk of losing their own life, performed acts of extreme bravery to save someone else's life or property.
He said the award would also recognise children who, despite their limitations, performed far beyond the ordinary and pushed the limits of courage and performance to a new level.
An independent research organisation he said was commissioned to collect, seek out and check for true stories, cited events, persons and places from the field about kids who performed these acts.
He said the company received 24 entries, which were scrutinised by a panel of assessors and that 17 were short listed for consideration by a panel of judges, which included the Chairman, Editorial Board, Guardian Newspapers, Mr. Reuben Abati; Head, Globacom Foundation, Ben Ayede, Managing Director, UBA Foundation, Mr. Funlola Adewale; Dean, Students Affairs, University of Lagos , Prof. Longe; Amb. Segun Olusola, who was represented by Mr. Jimi Olusola, MD, Africa Refugee Foundation, and Mrs. Iea Jonathan Ichaever of UNICEF.
The panel, he said selected three best acts based on criteria which included, demonstration of exceptional courage, leadership, excellence, skills displayed, bearing in mind the degree of risk involved, the determination to conduct the act, the future goals and likely impact on society, and whether it was an inspirational role model for other kids.
He stressed that the award scheme was national and would be an annual event but the criteria were conceived such that, the act did not necessarily have to be done in the year of the award.
He stated that the winners for this year's award would be honoured at a special ceremony billed for the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on November 26, 2008.
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